Sigh..... instead of making yet another post trying to explain what it is, I'll just link this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

Cloud is not a made up thing or solely a marketing term. How exactly cloud computing will work for video games is still an uncertain thing, but it is most definitely not 'made up' BS.

Virtualization and scalability are two terms you should learn when talking about what the cloud is.

All "CLOUD" means is receiving non local data from a magical place AKA the internet.

So we are able to say every console with internet runs on the cloud.

xbox, ps2, wii, wii u, ds, 3ds, psp, ps vita, 360, ps3

Where do those digital downloads come from? The cloud!!!!

The next gen consoles arent special.

I am not going to explain this again.

Microsoft is just using this word to draw in people who are stupid

That would be an incorrect statement sir. Your focusing to much on internet connection + servers = cloud, that is not a true statement. It's more like internet connection + servers + software = cloud. You have to understand what a virtual server is and the scalability of that concept. You can start by reading that wiki page, then read about the different cloud services out there. Amazon provides a large one, google does, Microsoft, and many others.

Normally devs pay for this back end support but it seems MS is offering a lot of the functionality of their cloud service free to video game dev teams. The term 'Cloud' did not suddenly pop into existence when MS unveiled their X Box One. It's something that has been around for years now, and calling it all 'PR marketing' is just plain incorrect.---PSN/XBL/Steam - cowboyoni

You are aware that majority of console users dont have internet reliable to download AI constantly.

Lsten to yourself, they are lying

you are aware that games are scaleable, look at dead rising, or any pc game in this century.

Trust me. Such significant parts of games like AI will not be offloaded to the cloud.

What if you have 100MB down while another player has 100kb/s?

How will the AI stay consistent on each players screen?@GwynsSonSolaire

By ensuring that only 20-30kb of data is sent per second. The limit on 360 is 8kb up and down per second, which will be improved on due to needing ~2.5MB down recommended.---(>O_O)> <(o_o<)(>O_O)> <(o_o<)

The future of cheating is to connect your console online over a server that allows you to modify the data it's sending/receiving.Is the game too hard?Modify the AI data so the enemies can't see you or walking into walls.---GameFAQs isn't going to be merged in with GameSpot or any other site. We're not going to strip out the soul of the site. -CJayC

Cloud is obviously going to be used mostly for online modes. Also freeing up processing power = better graphics so you are contradicting yourself a bit there. The article itself actually says that one of the few things Cloud can improve is environmental effects so MS saying this isn't a stretch at all.

This really fits with MS's plan because now MP games are going to look better and be bigger which will attract more people to the online scene, which means more subscriptions and so on.

How stupid can you get?

Every online game ever has used "the cloud"

The cloud is just internet connection. Downloading of data from a data source. I.e other players or a server.

There is nothing special about next gens multiplayer over this gens.

Dedicated servers dont even make much of a difference. It isnt going to change your life or anything. It will just prevent the occasional bad host, and NAT issues

You really should not have talked about "idiocy", after what you posted...

First of all, people talking about Cloud features are clearly referring to the particular objects highlighted by MS, which are dedicated servers for game logic, larger worlds, environmental effects, AI and game resource offloads and so on. Please follow the topic rather than try to impress us with your basic understanding of what Cloud is.

Secondly, P2P is pretty much a joke compared to dedicated and is why I don't play anything except BF3 online. Host migration is a joke. Chain quitting is a joke. Host advantage is a joke. Having a good connection but lagging like hell in half your matches is a joke. Playing with people across regions is a joke.

You've got to be one desperate fanboy to think dedicated servers don't matter. They've been the single largest complaint against XBL being a paid service and now is precisely why MS is trying to remedy this. Its also the number one complaint online whenever you play with people, especially since plenty of people will lag up the game if they know they are host.---GT: ZiiX360 PSN: BoxFighter85 PC: i7 930@4Ghz | EX58 UD5 | GTX 460 SLI | 8GB DDR3 | 500GB Spinpoint | Vertex 2 180 SSD | Cooler Master HAF X | VG236H

I'm more excited for the potential of it than anything, it can help with some things already, not necessarily to the scale it's been touted as yet, but a little. I mean this it's in the first steps of development, nobody should be expecting huge things out of it right now, but some years into this gen it could be making a significant difference. At the same time I realize that it will likely not be used to enhance SP portions of games, only MP/online only games.

Cool, you're realistic knowing that it's an online-only thing for multiplayer. Not sure everyone here is on the same page with that, but it looks like some definitely are.

Ya as much as I'd like it to be able to enhance SP games that's just not a realistic option as it stands right now, programming for when someone does or doesn't have an internet connection could be a nightmare. It's works in SP for games like Forza though and how they're using it for AI, from what I understand it uploads everyone's driving styles to "the cloud" where the servers crunch a bunch of data then your console downloads the info to update the AI in game, so no constant internet connection required. This has never been done before in a SP player game, looking forward to it.

Sigh..... instead of making yet another post trying to explain what it is, I'll just link this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

Cloud is not a made up thing or solely a marketing term. How exactly cloud computing will work for video games is still an uncertain thing, but it is most definitely not 'made up' BS.

Virtualization and scalability are two terms you should learn when talking about what the cloud is.

All "CLOUD" means is receiving non local data from a magical place AKA the internet.

So we are able to say every console with internet runs on the cloud.

xbox, ps2, wii, wii u, ds, 3ds, psp, ps vita, 360, ps3

Where do those digital downloads come from? The cloud!!!!

The next gen consoles arent special.

I am not going to explain this again.

Microsoft is just using this word to draw in people who are stupid

We all understand what "the cloud" is, that's not the argument, the argument is how it's going to be utilized by games. MS is pushing to use it in a way that's never been used for gaming before, heck no one's really even had the infrastructure to attempt how they want to use it. To expect huge things from it while it's literally in it's baby steps is silly, as is writing it off just because it hasn't been done before. In a few years it could be a huge difference and revolutionize gaming, or it could flop and be another failed marketing effort, happens to many companies.

And yes any console that can access the internet could use "the cloud", however those other consoles don't have nearly the infrastructure set up that MS already has and is still expanding, so although those other consoles can make use of the cloud it's not available to them in the same aspect as it is to MS' consoles.